The Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections in October crossed Rs 1 lakh crore for the first time since February as it stood at over Rs 1.05 lakh crore, the finance ministry said .

The finance ministry said that the gross GST revenue collected in October 2020 is Rs 1,05,155 crores and the total number of GSTR-3B returns filed for the month of October up to 31 is 80 lakh.

The gross GST revenue collected in the month of October 2020 is Rs 1,05,155 crore of which CGST is Rs 19,193 crore, SGST is Rs 5,411 crore, IGST is Rs 52,540 crore (including Rs 23,375 crore collected on import of goods) and cess is Rs 8,011 crore (including Rs 932 crore collected on import of goods), the ministry said in a statement.

This is the first time since February that the GST collections have crossed 1 lakh crore mark. The revenues for the month are 10 per cent higher than the GST revenues in the same month last year.

The government, while establishing GST in 2017, had kept Rs 1 lakh crore as its benchmark, but due to the corobavirus-induced lockdown, it wasn’t able to garner the collection.

Improved GST shows economic revival which will help the government is paying states their dues.

The growth in GST revenue as compared to that in months of July, August and September, 2020 of -14 per cent, -8 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively, clearly shows the trajectory of recovery of the economy.

The highest growth in GST collection is seen in Arunachal Pradesh at 138 per cent. In October 2019, the state had Rs 41 crore, this year, it is Rs 98 crore.